New jewelry line is local company's answer to changing retail landscape - WPRI

New jewelry line is local company's answer to changing retail landscape - WPRI

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- You've probably never heard of LDC, but it's likely you've seen its work. For decades LDC has designed and manufactured jewelry for several big retailers.

Now, the East Providence jewelry maker has its own direct-to-consumer jewelry line to make up for a changing retail landscape that is dotted with big box store closures.

"We've noticed changes in spending," explained Jennifer Brousseau, the Executive Vice President of LDC. "We might have had a large customer ordering 10 palates of product monthly. It's reduced down to two or three."

So to stay relevant and competitive, Brousseau and her sister-in-law, Alexys Garrepy, LDC's Director of Sales, launched the company's first-ever direct-to-consumer product line.

"If people are going direct to consumers, like boutique shops and online, we have to be there too," Garrepy said. "It's how we're evolving."

The Alexys Ryan brand necklaces and bracelets come with inspirational words and phrases. For example, one bracelet style features the word 'balance' which is paired with the phrase 'wear all the hats.'

"I know tons of women this day in age have so much to balance, so we knew that this was exactly what we wanted to do," Garrepy said.

The price-point for the new jewelry line is $28 to $38.

"Because we are a one-stop-shop and because we've had so much experience with so many different retailers, we have been able to see what sells," said Brousseau. "We've taken that knowledge and we've designed this line with that in mind."

Brousseau and Garrepy say there are already plans to expand the Alexys Ryan line.